Egg-tester.



11. P. EASLING.

I EGG TESTER.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 10,1911.

Patented Dec. 5, 1911.

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y N. P. EASLING.

EGG TESTER.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 10,1911.

.- 1 010 744. Patented Dec.5,1911.

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fl iptWW 5% I Atto meys NEWTON 1?. EASLING, or PEKIN, ILLINOIS.

EGG-TESTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 5, 1911.

Application filed July 10, 1911. Serial No. 637,719.

To all whom it may concern: Y

Be it known that I, NEWTON P. EASLING, a citizen of the United States,residing at Pekin, in the county of Tazewell and State of Illinois, haveinvented a new and useful Egg-Tester, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to egg testers.

The objectof the invention is, in a simple and practical manner, tofacilitate and expedite the examination of eggs used for incubatorpurposes, to enable the user to determine at a glance which of the eggsare fertile and which barren, the arrangement of the structure'beingsuch that a large number of eggs can be examined at one time, thereby toallow the attendant to remove those eggs which are non-fertile, andwhich are not in the least alfected by having been subjected to the heatof the incubator for three or seven days, thus eflecting a saving inboth time and labor in accomplishing the object, in that the individualinspection of the eggs, as heretofore practiced, is substituted'by awholesale examination that'in its results is fully as effective as thatobtained by the methods generally followed.

With the above and otherobjects in view, as will appear as the nature ofthe invention is better understood, the same consists, generally stated,in an egg tester embodying a casing having a flat bottom. and inclinedsides and ends that constitute reflectors, and an illuminating mediumarranged within the casing, the light rays from which. are directedupward by the deflectors. The top of the casing is open, and serves as arest for the trays containing the eggs, these, as is well known, havingbottoms formed from relatively large wire mesh thatwill permit thereflected rays of the light to render the eggs semi-transparent, ortranslucent, and to a degree that will enable the operator at a glance,to remove those eggs which are non-fertile, and to retain those in whichthe life germ has started to develop. At the same time that the eggs areinspected, they may beturned, thus saving a separate op eration that hasto be observedin the ordinarymethods followed in inspecting eggs. Thelight may be obtained from any source, such as from incandescentelectric lamps, or from a coal oil lamp, and as the latterwill be mostgenerally used, owing to the fact that electricity is not alwaysaccessible, it is necessary that means should be provided that rest uponthe upper edges of the eas ing, and in additionto serving as a means forsupporting the heat deflectors, these bars may be utilized forsupporting trays that may be too short to rest upon the casing. As willbe obvious, the employment of the mica deflectors will not detract fromthe efficiency of the apparatus, inasmuch as those eggs directly overthe deflectors may be inspected with the same easeand certainty as thoseremote therefrom. Y

Where incandescent lights are employed, the bulbs may be arranged invarious ways, such as disposing them in vertical position, or inhorizontal position, projecting inward from the sides or ends, or both.When the latter arrangement is employed, a shallower casing may beemployed than where a coal oil lamp is used, thus materially lesseningthe cost of product-ion of the article, and at the same time renderingit lighter and thus easier to handle.

Further and more specific details of construction will be hereinafterdescribed, illustrated inthe drawings, and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, andin which like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts:Figure 1 is a perspective view of one form of egg tester, whereinincandescent lamps are employed as the illuminating medium. Fig.2 is alongitudinal sectional view through the structure shown in Fig. 1, on aslightly enlarged scale. Fig. 3 is a top plan view of a modified'form oftester, in which coal oil lamps are employed for producing the necessarylight. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view through the structureshown in Fig. 3. Figs. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 are plan views,somewhat in the nature of diagrams, displaying the different ways inwhich the electric light bulbs may be arranged.

Referring to the drawings, and to Figs. 1-2, 5-13, 1 denotes a casingwhich may be constructed from any suitablematerial, and be of any sizeand depth desired, but from a standpoint of economy and lightness, it ispreferred to construct the casing, of wood.

Secured in the casing is a reflector compris ing inclined sides and ends2 and 3 respectively, and a fiat bottom 4. This reflector may beconstructed from any material suited to the purpose, but from thestandpoint of economy, and also to lessen the liability to breakage, itis preferred to em; ploy highly polished metal, although ordinary sheettin may be employed. The various sections of the reflector may besecured together in any preferred manner, generally by soldering, andthe upper edges of the sides and ends are formed with flanges at and 5through which are driven tacks or nails 6 to secure the reflector withinthe casing, a suitable space above the bot tom thereof. In the forms ofthe invention shown in the figures named, incandescent electric lights 7are employed for the purpose of illumination, the sockets 8 of which aresecured to the bottom of the casing, the conductors 9 being extendedthrough an opening in the end wall of the casing, and being connected tothe sockets in the usual manner. As shown in Figs. 1, 2, 6, 7, 8 and 9,the bulbs 7 are arranged in a vertical position, the bottom 4 of thereflector being provided with openings 10 through which the sockets 8project. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the bulbs are four in number and arearranged in the form of a rectangle, while in the forms of the inventionshown in Figs. 6, 7, 8 and 9, the lamps are arranged in a row, thus toincrease the number, of which the range is indefinite, two lights beingshown in Fig. 6, and six in Fig. 9. In each of the figures just named,the casing is provided with the deflectors, but in the forms of theinvention shown in Figs. 5, 10, 11, 12 and 13 the reflectors arediscarded, and the bulbs 11 are arranged in a horizontal plane, or oneparallel with the bottom. These last-named figures show various mannersin which the bulbs may be disposed, anyone of which is effective for thepurpose desired.

As most poultry farms are located in the rural districts in which accessto electricity is not always possible, it is essential, to secure theproper scope for the invent-ion, to adapt it for use in any locationwhere it may be desired, and to secure this result, the form of theinvention shown in Figs. 3 and 4 is employed, in which ordinary coal oillamps 12 are substituted for the electric lights. The two reservoirs ofthese lamps extend through openings in the bottom reflector, and restupon the bottom of the easing, and are thus prevented from shiftingtheir position. As will be obvious, the heat directed upward from thechimneys would be suflicient to cook and thus sterilize any eggscontained in a tray resting upon the casing. To obviate this difficulty,and at the same time not to interfere with the operation of the tester,heat deflectors are disposed over the chimneys, each of which consistsof a sheet of mica 13, three of the edges of which are secured in thethree-sided frame 14:, the object of this arrangement being to permitremoval and insertion of the mica when desired. Each of these frames issecured to two supporting bars 15, which are of a length to span thecasing, and held in place, in this instance, by having their terminalsbend at right angles to their length to provide stops or keepers, whichby contact with the sides of the cats ing will be held firmly inposition. These bars in addition to constituting a means for supportingthe heat deflectors, may also be utilized as rests for trays T that aretoo small to stand on the casing and rest upon its upper edges.

In the use of the apparatus, after any convenient time, the traycontaining the eggs is placed upon the casing, the latter being placedin a dark room. By looking downward upon the eggs, the operator can instantly detect which of the eggs are fertile, and which are barren, asthe life germ in the former will be plainly visible, while the latterwill be translucent, and of a clear yellowish color. The length of timethat the non-fertile eggs have been in the incubator will not damagethem in the least for domestic purposes, and they are removed b theoperator at inspection while those that are fertile are left to hatch.

It will be seen that there is practically no limit to the number of eggsthat may be inspected at one operation, as it will depend entirely uponthe size of the casing and of the incubator trays. It has been found inoperation that it is just as easy successfully to inspect two hundredand fifty eggs at one operation as to inspect a dozen.

It will be seen from the foregoing description, that although theapparatus herein described are simple in character, cannot becomederanged from use, they may readily be constructed by persons ofordinary mechanical ability.

I claim:

1. An egg tester comprising a casing, a reflector arranged within thecasing and comprising inclined sides and ends and a bottom, the bot-tomhaving an opening therein, and the sides and ends being secured at theirupper edges to the casing to support the reflector above the bottom ofthe casing, a lamp arranged .on the bottom of the casing and extendingthrough the open ing in the bottom of the reflector, a pair of barsspanning the casing and secured at their terminals to the casing and aheat deflector supported by the said bars over the lamp. 4

2. An egg tester comprising a casing, a reflector arranged within thecasing and comprising inclined sides and ends and a bottom, the bottomhaving openings therein and the sides and ends being secured at theirupper edges to the casing to support the reflector above the bottom ofthe casing, oil lamps seated on the bottom of the casing and extendingthrough the openings in the bottom of the reflector, and transparentheat deflectors arranged above the chimneys of the lamps.

3. An egg tester comprising a casing, a reflector arranged Within thecasing and comprising inclined sides and ends and a bottom, the bottomhaving openings therein and the sides and ends being secured at theirupper edges to the casing to support the reflector above the bottom ofthe casing, oil lamps seated on the bottom of the casing and extendingthrough the openings in the bottom of the reflector, and combined traysupports and heat deflectors arranged above the chimneys of the lamps.

4:. An egg tester comprising a casing, a

reflector arranged within the casing and constituting inclined sides andends and a bottom, the said bottom having openings therein and the sidesand ends secured at their upper edges to the casing to support thereflector above the bottom of the casing, lamps arranged on the bottomof the casing and extending through the openings in the bottom of thereflector, a pair of bars spanning the casing above each of the lampsand secured at their terminals to the casing, a three sided casingsecured to each pair of the said bars above the respective lamps, and aheat deflector removably secured to each of the said casings.

In testimony that I claim the'foregoing as my own, I have hereto aflixedmy signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

' NElVTON P. EASLING.

Witnesses:

GRACE J ANssEN, WILLIAM S. PRETTYMAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

